Four Palestine Action activists were jailed after an August 2024 raid on an Elbit Systems factory near Bristol that caused around £1.2m of damage. Samuel Corner, who fractured Sgt Kate Evans' spine with a sledgehammer, received seven years and eight months; the other defendants received five years, five years and four years eight months respectively. The court ruled the offences carried a terrorism connection, a rare classification for criminal damage. None of the defendants qualify for standard early release and each will serve an additional year on licence.
Four Palestine Action Activists Jailed After £1.2m Raid — Court Finds Terrorism Connection
Four people were convicted for the violent clash which fractured a police officer's spine and caused £1.2m worth of damage [Palestine Action]
Four members of the activist group Palestine Action have been jailed after a break-in at an Elbit Systems factory near Bristol in August 2024 caused an estimated £1.2m of damage. A retrial found Charlotte Head (30), Samuel Corner (23), Leona Kamio (30) and Fatema Rajwani (21) guilty of criminal damage, and the judge concluded the offences carried a legal "terrorism connection."
Sentences and legal findings
Samuel Corner received the longest sentence: seven years and eight months after being convicted of criminal damage and of inflicting grievous bodily harm on a police sergeant. The court heard Corner struck Sgt Kate Evans with a sledgehammer, fracturing her spine. Mr Justice Johnson said Corner used "extreme and gratuitous force" and had no justification for his actions.
The raid was livestreamed and posted online [Palestine Action]
Charlotte Head was sentenced to five years after the court heard she drove a prison van into the factory compound during the raid. Leona Kamio also received five years, and Fatema Rajwani was jailed for four years and eight months. None of the four will qualify for the usual early-release provisions; the Parole Board will assess their risk before any release. Each will also serve an additional year on licence in the community after custody.
Impact on the officer and courtroom reaction
Sgt Kate Evans read an impact statement describing ongoing physical and emotional consequences: continuing medical treatment, loss of rank, disturbed sleep and distressing dreams. She told the court that Corner showed "no sign of shock or regret" and later tried to justify the attack with offensive claims that she was complicit in genocide.
A large demonstration is being held outside the court ahead of the activists' sentencing [PA Media]
"What happened that night changed the life of one of our officers," said Avon and Somerset Police Chief Constable Sarah Crew after sentencing. "It is important everyone realises that behind every uniform is an ordinary person."
Prosecution and defence arguments
The Crown argued the damage had a terrorism connection because it was intended to influence the government or public to advance an ideological cause, a definition that under UK law can increase sentence severity. The judge accepted that the way the offences were carried out — including some defendants livestreaming footage to social media — met the legal test.
In mitigation, Rajiv Menon KC, leading defence counsel for Head and representing the group, criticised the prosecution's application of a terrorism label to criminal damage. He said treating a non-violent offence as terrorism-linked for sentencing was unprecedented and risked "chilling" effects on the criminal justice system. He also noted that Head had been acquitted of aggravated burglary at an earlier trial and that a violent disorder charge had been dropped before the retrial.
Protests, arrests and proscription status
About 500 protesters gathered outside the court in support of Palestine Action; the Metropolitan Police said 107 people were arrested and taken into custody during those demonstrations. The government proscribed Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation in July of the previous year. That proscription was later challenged and the High Court found aspects of the process unlawful in February, but the organisation remains proscribed while legal and administrative matters continue.
This case is believed to be among the first — if not the first — in which criminal damage convictions have been formally classified by a court as having a terrorism connection. The ruling and its implications for protest groups and sentencing have already prompted debate among lawyers and civil liberties advocates.
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